Ask nearly anyone in the Hurricane Valley – young or old – who Jody Rich is and they will probably know about him. Many will know him personally.

In fact, a neighbor once did an experiment and sent a letter to him from Las Vegas with the address written simply as “Jody R. Hurricane, UT 84737” and in a town of nearly 20,000 people, it reached him.

Jody Rich poses with Hurricane High School orchestra students at the state orchestra festival last weekend, Orem, Utah, May 17-19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jody Rich, St. George News

He’s so well known because he’s been a positive force at Hurricane High School for 25 years, first as a counselor, then as assistant principal and for the last six years as principal – and not a typical one.

Yesterday he presided over his last graduation at HHS because this spring he decided to step down as principal to do what has been his plan for years – go back to counseling. Darin Thomas, who has served as principal of Water Canyon for the last four years, will take his place.

This go-round as counselor, however, he’ll have a little younger clientele because he’ll be a counselor at Hurricane Middle School. However, he won’t leave the high school completely. He’ll be a counselor there one day a week.

And he knows the person he’s replacing at the middle school very well. She is his daughter-in-law.

The educator

Early on, Rich was set to take over his father’s plumbing business, but decided he wanted to work with youth instead.

Rich started his education career teaching history and psychology at Bingham High School for two years, then as a counselor for three. After five years at a large school, he felt it was time to go to a smaller school so he could make more of a difference. In 1993, he interviewed at a few schools and when he interviewed with then Hurricane High Principal Rob Goulding, he felt it was the right place for him and his family and he became a major part of what has now become known as the “Tiger Army.”

When he first moved to the southwest corner of the state, he and his wife bought a home in Washington City. But two months after moving into the house, he felt he that the family should move to Hurricane, so they bought a lot and built a house in what is now Angell Heights and have been there ever since.

Rich said he came to Hurricane with no roots or ties here, but now he has plenty. To his five children – Amanda, Jordan, Anderson, Benson and Hannah – Hurricane is home and his married children’s spouses are all Hurricane natives.

The people person

To say Jody Rich is a people person is an understatement. He thrives on being part of a group, his daughter-in-law Tasha Rich said, and he loves talking to people.

While on vacation, for instance, Tasha Rich said he regularly starts talking to people next to his table at restaurants and strikes up conversations with complete strangers at hotel pools. One of his favorite things about his bike rides across the country was talking to people along the route. He would actually knock on doors to talk to people, explaining who he was while encouraging them to serve. He has whole albums of photos of him with people he’s only known for a few minutes who, by the look of the photo, might seem like people he’s known for years.

Jody Rich poses with both the Hurricane High School boys and girls water polo teams at the state meet last weekend, Oquirh Park Fitness Center, Kearns, Utah, May 18-19, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jody Rich, St. George News

One quality many notice about him goes along with his love for people. He is seemingly omnipresent around the community and regularly attends significant events in the lives of former HHS students, from mission farewells and homecomings to weddings.

He is a fixture at high school sporting events – home and away – and he doesn’t just cater to the Tiger faithful. He’s a regular on the opposing team’s sideline, shaking hands with opposing players, coaches and fans. In fact, on one occasion he even lined up with an opposing team’s drill team.

Just last weekend he attended the state track meet at Brigham Young University to cheer on Tiger athletes, the state orchestra festival in Orem, as well as a state water polo match in Kearns.

He about broke down as he described his experience seeing the looks on the faces of the water polo team (which he admitted might feel they are not as significant because their team is not school sponsored) when they noticed that their principal had cared enough to come and support them. Their faces just lit up when they saw him. Experiences like that are one of the things he admitted he will miss the most.

Attending so many events so far from home is a sacrifice, he said.

“But those kids – they’re yours for life,” he concluded.

The best prevention for suicide, he explained, is love – making those vulnerable students feel connected and showing one cares for them.

Opposite of what most people display on their refrigerator – a calendar of things that they will attend or need to do – his daughter-in-law said he has a calendar listing events he won’t be able to attend. Tasha Rich said he truly has a case of FOMO – fear of missing out.

The atypical principal

Even before becoming principal, Jody Rich was popular among HHS students. As a counselor, the wait for an appointment to talk to him was long, partly because he loves to talk, Tasha Rich said.

His secretary at the time, Dana Leavitt, once said, “Waiting to talk to Jody Rich is like a Disneyland ride, the line is long, but the wait is worth it,” Tasha Rich noted.

Most of the time, Rich greets students not with a handshake, but with a hug.

“He wants to know everything about you,” Hayes said, “your name, everything about your family, favorite things, how you got where you are and where you’re going throughout the year.”

Jody Rich poses with the Hurricane High School girls track team, Hurricane, Utah, May 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jody Rich, St. George News

Each year, Rich speaks with every single student one-on-one, Hayes said, and asks things such as what is going well in their lives and what is not. He regularly expresses his love to students and always offers to help them in any way he can, Hayes noted.

Being on student council, Hayes said, she’s gotten to know her principal very well this year, including seeing his “great sense of humor you don’t see every day.”

“He’s not afraid to joke around with us and we have some funny inside jokes,” she said. “Not only is he so caring about everyone around him . . . he is so funny and fun and makes a huge effort to have a real, personal relationship with those he is in contact with.”

As an example of the “coolness factor” he brings to the job, Hayes said he rode all the rides at Lagoon during the “Senior Sneak” trip and has played a few practical jokes on some student council members, Hayes said.

One gets the impression that most students at HHS would have similar superlatives as Hayes to describe their principal – and they do.

“Jody Rich is the most influential person that I know,” said HHS senior-to-be Marie Dunn. “He has made such an impact on so many lives and I admire how he is always doing good.”

Dunn said that because of Rich, the high school enjoys a “loving family feel,” with the principal there to greet students with a hug every day.

“The thing I think makes Jody a great principal is that you know that he loves each and every one of us,” Dunn said.

The mentor

Tasha Rich, who is married to Jody Rich’s son Jordan, has been a counselor at Hurricane Middle School the last five years. Her husband’s job is taking them to the Phoenix area and while she is sad to leave, she knows that her replacement will do a good job.

As a counselor at HMS, Rich said her father-in-law will be loved and will help change the culture of the school.

He has been a tremendous influence in her life, she said, helping her, a first-generation college graduate, get into college.

“He made it seem reachable for someone who didn’t understand any of it,” she said. “He made it seem like anyone could do it.”

Fittingly, the two of them finished practically the same educational path – a bachelor’s degree from Dixie State University and a master’s in counseling from the University of Utah.

His family aside, Rich has been a mentor to many teachers he’s worked with at the high school.

Hurricane High School biology teacher Dustin Dayley freely admits that he is one of the lives Rich has touched.

“Jody is the boss that most people will never experience in their life,” Dayley said. “I truly consider myself lucky to have been able to work with and under his leadership. He has been an incredible mentor and administrator that cares and makes it known in all his actions. I am certain that Jody’s leadership, talent and ability to touch people’s lives falls in the 1 percent of all people.”

Chris Homer, now the principal at Hurricane Middle School but who formerly taught biology, coached football and served as assistant principal at HHS, said Rich was the first one who shook his hand and talked to him when he came to HHS 20 years ago. As the years have progressed, naturally the two have grown much closer, especially as Homer served under him as assistant principal before accepting the job at HMS.

One of the things that Homer has tried to implement since becoming principal of HMS is to cultivate a positive culture like Rich has done at Hurricane High School, albeit differently than Rich does because many will admit, “Nobody can do it like Jody does it.”

“He is phenomenal,” Homer said. “He isn’t like anyone else. He deserves any tributes he gets. He’s poured his life into that job.”

Other high school principals in the district are constantly in awe at how much he gives, Homer noted.

Homer said he is excited to have Rich on the HMS team next year and knows that he will do wonders at improving school culture and helping conflict resolution, among other things.

Homer said they both have full trust in one another.

The bike rider

An avid bicyclist, Rich rides his bike to school most days and has also ridden his bike across the country, Pacific to Atlantic, twice. In 2013, he and former Hurricane Middle School Principal Roy Hoyt, decided to start what they called PAACE – Principals Across America for Computers in Education – and bike across the country that summer. That first PAACE ride took them from San Diego to Jacksonville, Florida, and resulted in raising over $30,000 for computers for Hurricane schools. Their motto on that trip was “You Can Do Hard Things.”

Jody Rich poses with family and friends in New York at the end of his bike ride across the country last summer to raise money for a scholarship fund he started. From left to right, Jordan Rich, Tasha Rich, Atticus Rich, Mandy Rich, Jody Rich, Gene Morris, Lynette Morris, Pearce Morris and Alexis Morris, New York, New York, June 30, 2017 | Photo courtesy of Jody Rich, St. George News

In 2015, the two principals teamed up to do a similar ride, this time from the United States’ northern border to its southern border along the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. This time, they replaced the last two words in the acronym with “Caring Education” and adopted the motto, “It’s not about you.” Unfortunately, Rich couldn’t finish the trip. An accident near Big Sur, California, resulted in a broken collarbone and an early trip home. Despite the setback, he called on the Hurricane community to finish the trip for him in proxy and complete acts of service along the way.

Last summer, he did a ride across the country again, this time along a northern route – from Tillamook, Oregon to New York City – with a different riding companion, friend Gene Morris. The third time the mission was to raise money for college scholarships for Hurricane High School students, known as the PAACE Legacy Scholarship. That time around, he raised a whopping $65,000.

Not surprisingly, applicants of the $1,000 PAACE Legacy Scholarship have to write essays that encapsulate two themes – “I Can Do Hard Things” and “It’s Not About You.” He recently awarded the first two of these scholarships to HHS graduating seniors Rachel Beagley and Alma Burgos Munoz.

On all his bike rides, he made almost daily videos, most of them while riding his bike, with life lessons and shout-outs to people in the community and posted the videos on the PAACE Facebook page as a chronicle of the trip.

The PAACE rides aren’t the only motivational stunts he’s pulled while at Hurricane High. To help raise test scores, for instance, he’s spent the night in some odd places, including the school’s roof and trophy case.

He said doing those out-of-the-ordinary antics were incredible experiences that were loved by students and achieved their goals to raise test scores. When asked if he’d do another ride, he didn’t shut the door on the possibility.

One of the things he might try next? Impromptu crowd surfing, he joked.

Stepping down

When asked about stepping down as principal, he said he sincerely enjoys his job.

“I absolutely love everything I do with kids. It provides me with the opportunity to reach as many kids as I can.”

Jody Rich and his wife, Mandy, pose with their grandchildren during a recent trip to Disneyland. In the caption of the Instagram post that went along with the photo, he wrote, “These munchkins are what life’s all about,” and spending more time with family is one of the reasons he is stepping down as HHS principal, Anaheim, California, Feb. 14, 2018 | Photo courtesy of Jody Rich, St. George News

However, he felt it was time to simplify his life and go back to “helping kids full time” as a counselor. He said it’s time, in essence, to only have one full time job and enjoy more time with his family.

The person who stands to gain the most from his decision to step down is definitely his wife, Mandy, who has grown accustomed to him being gone frequently. He said it is time to start receiving fewer phone calls saying that the grandkids are over at his house and he is somewhere else.

“I’m just happy for him,” Tasha Rich said of her father-in-law’s decision to step back and spend more time with his family.

This summer, in fact, Tash Rich said he plans to go to a place within driving distance with a different one of his children each month. The soon-to-be-former principal said he wants to take it easy this summer, stay in Utah and see places he’s never seen within his home state.

It’s not about you

An outsider looking in might think that Jody Rich is self-absorbed. Anyone who knows him well will say that he most definitely is not.

In fact, one of his mottos, which is emblazoned on the top of his Instagram page is: “Life’s not about you . . . it’s about what you do for others.”

“He’s so genuine,” Tasha Rich said. “He’s the same everywhere,” noting that his persona doesn’t change from school to home.

“He acts like he loves everybody and it’s true. Nobody could fake what he does. He gives a lot and he gets a lot back.”

Homer concurred.

“It’s not a show,” Homer said. “It’s who he is.”

Homer tells the story of going to meetings at the district office with Rich and watching as he shook hands with nearly everyone at the meeting and asked how they were doing. Some at the district got the wrong impression, thinking that the principal was a butt-kisser aiming for the district office.

“The district office would be his nightmare,” Homer said, adding that each time Rich was at those meetings, he felt bad that he was not at school helping students every minute of the day as he always does.

Homer also spoke of Rich’s humility and honesty.

“As good as he is, he is always talking about his weaknesses,” Homer said.

“Everywhere you go in this community you find Jody there,” Johnson said. “You finish a conversation with Jody and realize that you have done almost all of the talking. His ability to listen and love is superhuman.”

To Rich, life has five main ingredients: get up, show up, find purpose, work hard and never quit.

“Half of my job is showing up,” he said. “If you want to make a difference with kids – show up.”

Most would say, the other half of the job Rich has done at HHS is love everyone for who they are, unconditionally, and reach out to those in need.

Tributes to Jody Rich from Hurricane High School administration and faculty

Daniel McKeehan, assistant principal

“God gave Jody a gift. Touching lives is that gift. As a colleague, I have always felt that he cared about us before policy and rules. Jody is always interested in doing what’s right for others. He walks the walk and lifts others to do the same. I don’t know that I have ever met a better human being.”

Jon Homer, counselor

“I love everything about Jody. He is such a great mentor and friend. I think the thing I have learned most from Jody is unconditional love. He has true care and concern for everyone. He shows this through his actions. He doesn’t just talk about how much he cares, he shows how much he cares by being there for everyone, in every instance. He’s always willing to sacrifice his own time to be there for other people.”

Content Marshall, special education teacher

“He (is) a friend – a friend that made sure that my mental needs were taken care of. He knew my family and my extended family. When my daughter got sick he made sure that the school needs were taken care of and then organized fundraisers to help with expenses. My children were all touched by him in some way. He will always be a confidante and friend.”

Richard Hill, drama teacher

“Jody has made going to high school just what it should be: an adventure in love and discovery for students and staff. With him at the helm, people on board know they matter. One of my favorite stories about him repeated itself every time there was a schoolwide crisis of conscience or bad behavior – bullying, social media scandal, vandalism, rumor – no matter what the issue, (Jody) reminded us that we were family and that we could do hard things and get up off the mat by caring about each other.”

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/raw-an-atypical-principal-jody-rich-the-epitome-of-servant-leadership-steps-down/feed/0Memorial Day weekend events guide for Southern Utah, Nevadahttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/hsr-memorial-day-weekend-events-guide-for-southern-utah-nevada/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/hsr-memorial-day-weekend-events-guide-for-southern-utah-nevada/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 14:17:57 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=596051SOUTHERN UTAH — In honor of the brave servicemen and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice – that of their lives – to the people of the United States, services and remembrances across Southern Utah and Nevada will be held throughout the Memorial Day weekend.
A Memorial Day observance is held at the Veterans Honor Park in SunRiver, St. George, Utah, May 29, 2017 | File photo courtesy of Valerie King, St. George News

The public is invited to attend one or several of the many observances to pay tribute to those who were lost but should never be forgotten.

American Legion Post 142 will host a Memorial Day Service at the SunRiver Veterans Honor Park. The featured speaker will be retired Lt. Col. Jerome Gourley of Toquerville. Gourley is a Gold Star father and will pay tribute to his son who died while serving in the military in Iraq.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/hsr-memorial-day-weekend-events-guide-for-southern-utah-nevada/feed/0Experts: ‘Alarming’ drought conditions hit U.S. Southwesthttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/apc-experts-alarming-drought-conditions-hit-u-s-southwest/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/apc-experts-alarming-drought-conditions-hit-u-s-southwest/#commentsThu, 24 May 2018 13:23:17 +0000http://stgnews.com/?p=596030ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Rivers and watering holes are drying up, popular mountain recreation spots are closing and water restrictions are in full swing as a persistent drought intensifies its grip on pockets of the American Southwest.

Climatologists and other experts on Wednesday provided an update on the situation in the Four Corners region — where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah meet. They say the area is among the hardest hit and there’s little relief expected, and even robust summer rains might not be enough to replenish the soil and ease the fire danger.

The region is dealing with exceptional drought — the worst category. That has left farmers, ranchers and water planners bracing for a much different situation than just a year ago when only a fraction of the region was experiencing low levels of dryness.

Brian Fuchs, a climatologist with the National Drought Mitigation Center in Nebraska, said people are become more aware and more concerned.

“We’ve been on this pattern where conditions have dried out, we haven’t seen much relief through last summer or into the winter months and here we are going into the summer of 2018 with over two-thirds of the region already in drought,” he said. “So that’s alarming to say the least.”

Portions of the four states are seeing near-record to record dryness. Fuchs explained that some spots have missed out over the last two years on more than 12 inches of precipitation — which can add up to as much as a year’s worth of rain under normal conditions.

Warmer-than-average temperatures haven’t helped as the soil dries out and water demands increase.

With the region’s resources strained, a top federal official has resumed pressure on states in the Southwest to wrap up long-delayed emergency plans for potential shortages on the Colorado River, which serves 40 million people in the U.S. and Mexico.

“We face an overwhelming risk on the system, and the time for action is now,” Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman said Tuesday. She spoke before the Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California, one of the biggest single users of the Colorado River.

The drought has hit the Colorado River hard. Forecasters say the river will carry only about 43 percent of its average amount of water this year into Lake Powell, one of two big reservoirs on the system.

In New Mexico, stretches of the Rio Grande — another one of North America’s longest rivers — have already gone dry as biologists have been forced to scoop up as many endangered Rio Grande silvery minnows as possible so they can be moved upstream.

The river this summer is expected to dry as far north as Albuquerque, New Mexico’s most populous city. The area saw its first major dose of rain this week, ending a 54-day dry spell. It wasn’t enough to make up for months without meaningful precipitation.

Management of the Rio Grande and the groundwater associated with it is at the center of a legal battle that has been simmering before the U.S. Supreme Court since 2013.

New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas late Tuesday filed counterclaims against Texas and the federal government, saying they also bear responsibility to ensure proper allocation and accounting of water if the region hopes to have a sustainable future.

“While this case initially should have been resolved without filing a costly lawsuit, I am excited New Mexico will finally get to tell its unified story about how Texas and the United States have unfairly tried to scapegoat New Mexico,” Balderas said Wednesday.

Texas officials are reviewing New Mexico’s claims.

Balderas, who inherited the case from former Attorney General Gary King, said he’s still hoping to resolve the lawsuit but wants to protect New Mexicans from paying “an unjust price.”

It could be years before the court issues a ruling on the merits of the case. Depending on the outcome, New Mexico could be forced to pay millions of dollars in damages despite the state’s claims that water deliveries have been met and that Texas hasn’t suffered damages.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/apc-experts-alarming-drought-conditions-hit-u-s-southwest/feed/3SR-9 reconstruction complete but Zion officials still advise visitors to anticipate crowded conditionshttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/prc-sr-9-reconstruction-complete-but-zion-officials-still-advise-visitors-to-anticipate-crowded-conditions/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/prc-sr-9-reconstruction-complete-but-zion-officials-still-advise-visitors-to-anticipate-crowded-conditions/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 12:53:10 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595897SPRINGDALE — Memorial Day weekend is a time to honor those who have fallen while serving our country and the unofficial start of summer. It also is Zion National Park’s busiest weekend. Last year, more than 75,000 people visited the park, with Sunday being the busiest day with 31,000 visitors.
This 2017 file photo shows visitors in line for shuttle access to Zion National Park, Utah, circa 2017 | File photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

While the park is extending facility hours and increasing staffing, visitors should expect crowded conditions, especially between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. when wait times to enter the park and board shuttles will most likely exceed 45 minutes. At one point, last year, the shuttle lines were close to two hours long.

However, access to the park should be easier this year after completion of the estimated $19 million renovation of state Route 9 through Springdale, with wider sidewalks and designated bike lanes on both sides of the highway.

The project got underway in late 2016 and was completed in two phases. The first phase, which started in Rockville and stopped where it entered Springdale, wrapped up in April 2017. The second phase, which went through Springdale to the park, began in October 2017 and finished during the latter half of April.

Zion National Park has limited parking space that is projected to fill up by 9 a.m. during the weekend. Park officials ask visitors to park only in designated stalls. Vehicles parked outside of designated stalls are subject to citation and may be towed. Once all designated parking stalls in Zion are full, visitors should park in the town of Springdale and ride the free shuttle to access the park. There is a charge for parking in Springdale. The pay stub for parking in town is nota park entrance pass. Similarly, a park entrance pass is nota town parking validation.

This 2015 file photo shows people waiting in line for the shuttle at Zion National Park over the 2015 Labor Day weekend, Springdale, Utah, Sept. 6, 2015 | File photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

The Zion Canyon Visitor Center information desk and backcountry permits desk will extend hours until 7 p.m. beginning Saturday. The Zion Nature Center, which houses hands-on exhibits and activities geared for children and their families, will open from 2-6 p.m. beginning Saturday through Labor Day. The Zion Human History Museum also will extend hours beginning Saturday, opening at 9 a.m. and closing at 6 p.m.

“Visitors should come prepared,” park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh said. “Not only for crowded conditions, but for the hikes and other activities they are planning. With so many people visiting, we ask that visitors show additional patience with others and respectful trail etiquette. And remember that safety is your responsibility, so please avoid unsafe behaviors and risk-taking. Multiple emergencies are common during busy periods, stretching the availability of search and rescue, emergency medical and fire-fighting capabilities.”

Park officials suggest for a more enjoyable visit, people go to the Zion National Park website to find important information on shuttles, buses, trails and other facilities.

Visitors staying in local hotels are advised to leave their vehicles there and take the free shuttle to the park walk-in gate. Plan ahead. Arrive early to the park to avoid the largest crowds. Check weather conditions and prepare accordingly. Have patience and drink plenty of water. If traveling with children, bring snacks or a toy to entertain them while in shuttle lines.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/24/prc-sr-9-reconstruction-complete-but-zion-officials-still-advise-visitors-to-anticipate-crowded-conditions/feed/0Intermountain brings specialized medicine to patients, physicians wherever they arehttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-intermountain-brings-specialized-medicine-to-patients-physicians-wherever-they-are/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-intermountain-brings-specialized-medicine-to-patients-physicians-wherever-they-are/#commentsThu, 24 May 2018 04:09:09 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=585261ST. GEORGE — Intermountain Healthcare’s Connect Care Pro is part of a telemedicine push that uses technological advancements to bring specialized care to patients and advanced medical support to providers – a trend taking shape across the country.

Connect Care Pro brings together 35 telehealth programs and more than 500 caregivers to provide access to Intermountain’s health care providers to patients wherever they are – a concept the company has pursued for more than five years, Intermountain Healthcare Vice President of Outreach Services Jim Sheets told St. George News.

“We want to keep care local and increase the expertise of local physicians by providing support from our specialty clinicians,” Sheets said.

Many of the services have been operational for the last several years, he added, but are now under one entity with a common name “designed with the idea that we would grow the services.”

Intermountain began rolling out the services, including direct-to-consumer options that provide basic medical care directly to the consumer using digital and telecommunications, according to a statement from the company.

Those services include patient appointments scheduled with a doctor that take place over the computer, or an in-office visit scheduled with a primary care physician, with the benefit of having a specialist that is also present via computer or over the phone, Sheets said.

Connect Care Pro also provides advanced services to physicians, including stroke evaluation, mental health counseling, intensive care and newborn critical care and is particularly valuable to rural hospitals or facilities that do not have specialized services on site.

“It’s exporting clinical specialties to doctors who like working in these rural hospitals, but don’t see the complexity of patients that doctors in larger medical centers do,” Sheets said.

For example, a physician at a Southern Utah hospital received a critical care consultation for an infant, which allowed him to treat the sick baby in the local hospital instead of transferring the baby to a newborn intensive care unit in Salt Lake City.

Another example is a woman who walked into a hospital in Richfield in labor in her 35th week of pregnancy, Sheets said, and the treating physician had only limited experience in delivering premature babies. Instead of transferring the woman to a facility for specialty services, she was treated at the Richfield hospital by local doctors facilitated by Intermountain specialists through virtual support services. That enabled the baby’s parents to remain in the local area amid the support of their families rather than traveling hundreds of miles each time they wanted to see their child.

“Kanab has had one of the highest suicide rates in the state, not including patients that come to us from our border town in Arizona and we don’t have a crisis worker here. Trying to place a patient who has not had a crisis evaluation was next to impossible.”

Intermountain Healthcare’s virtual services now offer patients a crisis evaluation in less than an hour, Kelly said, and if the crisis worker recommends in-patient treatment, the program workers assist in placing the patient.

Plans are underway to extend services to communities that have underserved areas and there have been discussions to put patient kiosks or access points in various locations, including homeless shelters, schools, community centers and possibly even jails, the company said in the statement.

Intermountain is joining many other hospitals around the country by increasing its efforts in the virtual hospital strategy, deploying technological advancements in hopes of providing easier and less expensive care.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-intermountain-brings-specialized-medicine-to-patients-physicians-wherever-they-are/feed/1University vocal students advance to semifinals in national competitionhttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/prc-university-vocal-students-advance-to-semifinals-in-national-competition/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/prc-university-vocal-students-advance-to-semifinals-in-national-competition/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 03:24:41 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595888CEDAR CITY — Two Southern Utah University vocal students have advanced to the semifinals of the National Student Auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Under the direction of professor Carol Ann Modesitt and accompanied by Tracey Bradshaw, Ashley Stackhouse, a choral music education major, and Claire Robinson, a vocal performance major, have shown talent and professionalism.

“This is an incredible feat,” said Lawrence Johnson, chairman of the music department at SUU. “They had to advance through a NATS local chapter round, a Cal-Western Regional round, and finally a national YouTube round in order to be in the top 14 singers in their categories, competing against hundreds of singers throughout the United States, truly making them the ‘best of the best’ of the nation’s college singers.

“We are extremely proud and excited for our singers who are able to compete at such a high level and represent the teaching and artistic excellence at SUU.”

Robinson said she’s been working on the music she sings now for almost nine months, but she still finds aspects of performance that need improvement.

“There’s always something that can be improved even if you’re singing all the right notes,” she said.

The most important training for Stackhouse was consistently practicing and maintaining a positive attitude.

“It’s so easy to say ‘I’ll practice tomorrow’ and give yourself the day off, but I knew I needed to spend quality time practicing every day if I wanted to be successful,” Stackhouse said.

The National Association of Teachers of Singing is the largest professional association of teachers of singing in the world. Its mission statement articulates that it is “to encourage the highest standards of the vocal art and of ethical principles in the teaching of singing; and to promote vocal education and research at all levels, both for the enrichment of the general public and for the professional advancement of the talented.”

Stackhouse and Robinson will compete in the semifinals at the NATS National Convention in Las Vegas at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas June 22. The top three singers in each category will advance to the national finals at the Tropicana in Las Vegas June 24.

For more information about the department of music at SUU, click here.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/prc-university-vocal-students-advance-to-semifinals-in-national-competition/feed/03-year-old boy drowns in pondhttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/prc-3-year-old-boy-drowns-in-pond/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/prc-3-year-old-boy-drowns-in-pond/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 02:26:20 +0000http://stgnews.com/?p=596063MESQUITE, Nev. — A 3-year-old boy drowned Wednesday in a pond behind his home in Mesquite, Nevada, city officials said.

The Mesquite Police Department and Mesquite Fire & Rescue responded to a report around 11:30 a.m. that the boy was found in the pond, according to statements from both agencies. He had been pulled from the water and police officers and fire personnel began lifesaving efforts.

The child was taken to Mesa View Regional Hospital in Mesquite where he was later pronounced dead.

“Our hearts go out to the family members and those involved in this sad and traumatic event,” the Mesquite Police said in the statement, adding that they are still actively investigating the incident.

“Due to the nature of the incident, no more details will be released from the Mesquite Police Department pending the completion of the investigation.”

Shortly before 10:30 a.m., emergency dispatchers received a report of a two-car collision on Sunset Boulevard at approximately 1200 West.

St. George Police officer Lona Trombley said a black 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan driven by a 31-year-old man was westbound when it entered the eastbound lanes and struck the driver’s side of a blue 2010 Toyota Camry driven by a 48-year-old woman.

Video captured by the security camera trained on the Family Pawn parking lot offers a brief look at the accident. View the footage by clicking play in the window above. The moment of impact can be seen on the frames with the time stamp “10:22:57,” right when the two cars converge just to the right of the digits “2018” shown on the screen.

The driver of the Toyota Camry was transported by Gold Cross Ambulance to Dixie Regional Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries.

No other injuries were reported.

The man driving the Hyundai was cited for failure to maintain safe lane travel and for driving on a denied license, Trombley said.

Both vehicles sustained significant damage to their front left wheel areas and needed to be towed from the scene. Airbags in both vehicles were deployed.

St. George Fire Department personnel also responded to the scene and helped with cleanup.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Scene of a two-car collision near 1200 W. Sunset Boulevard, St. George, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/jmr-car-drifts-across-sunset-boulevard-into-oncoming-traffic/feed/1TGIF Show: Your weekend adventure guide brought to you by CasaBlanca Resorthttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/spc-hsr-sjd-tgif-show-your-weekend-adventure-guide-brought-to-you-by-casablanca-resort-2/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/spc-hsr-sjd-tgif-show-your-weekend-adventure-guide-brought-to-you-by-casablanca-resort-2/#respondThu, 24 May 2018 00:55:43 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595651SOUTHERN UTAH— The weekend is almost here again, and that means it’s time to look for adventure – maybe something fun, inspiring, educational or entertaining. Take advantage of our snapshot of Southern Utah events and activities to enjoy with family and friends, and keep the adventure going all weekend long!

Watch TGIF Show co-hosts Sheldon and Hollie talk about their weekend picks:

Have a tip for something happening next weekend?

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/spc-hsr-sjd-tgif-show-your-weekend-adventure-guide-brought-to-you-by-casablanca-resort-2/feed/0Woman flown to 2 hospitals in ‘very critical condition’ after I-15 rolloverhttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-woman-flown-to-2-hospitals-in-very-critical-condition-after-i-15-rollover/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-woman-flown-to-2-hospitals-in-very-critical-condition-after-i-15-rollover/#commentsThu, 24 May 2018 00:10:52 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595950ST. GEORGE — A rollover on Interstate 15 in Iron County left two occupants injured after their SUV rolled multiple times late Tuesday night.
Pontiac SUV sustains extensive damage during single-vehicle rollover on I-15, Parowan, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News

Upon arrival responders found a 63-year-old passenger trapped and critically injured, with “severe head trauma,” Baie said. The woman was freed from the wreckage and transported by ambulance to Parowan Airport and then flown to Dixie Regional Medical Center in “very critical condition,” the trooper said.

The woman was later flown by helicopter to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray with “extensive, extensive head trauma,” Baie said.

The driver was injured but conscious and was transported by ambulance to Cedar City Hospital for evaluation and treatment.

The man told troopers that he and his wife were heading south on I-15 when he “believed he fell asleep,” Baie said.

“He told us that he was very tired, but then thought he caught a second wind and kept driving,” she said. “The next thing he remembered was the SUV rolling.”

Troopers determined that as the SUV approached mile marker 89 the vehicle veered toward the median and the driver over-corrected. The vehicle cut across both lanes of travel before it went off the soft shoulder to the right and rolled multiple times, crossing over a frontage road before landing upright more than 50 yards from the roadway.

An accident reconstruction was conducted by the Utah Highway Patrol Wednesday morning to assist in the ongoing crash investigation.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Frontage road that SUV crossed after veering off of I-15 and rolling multiple times, Parowan, Utah, May 23, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Utah Highway Patrol, St. George News

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-woman-flown-to-2-hospitals-in-very-critical-condition-after-i-15-rollover/feed/2Sen. Lee proposes bill addressing mountain biking through wilderness areashttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/srr-sen-lee-proposes-bill-addressing-mountain-biking-through-wilderness-areas/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/srr-sen-lee-proposes-bill-addressing-mountain-biking-through-wilderness-areas/#commentsWed, 23 May 2018 23:21:11 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595955ST. GEORGE — Mountain bikers may soon be able to pedal through wilderness areas if a new bill proposed by U.S. Sen. Mike Lee passes.
This undated stock image shows areas of the Zion Wilderness within Zion National Park. Under a new bill proposed by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, local wilderness managers will be able to determine whether to open wilderness areas for mountain bikers. | Photo by tristanbnv/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The Human-Powered Travel in Wilderness Areas Act would give local wilderness managers the power to decide whether to allow bikers to travel through wilderness areas. If wilderness managers do not make a decision on which routes to open within two years, all routes within their jurisdiction would automatically open for bikers.

“The National Wilderness Preservation System was created so that the American people could enjoy our country’s priceless natural areas,” said Lee, the Utah Republican. “This bill would enrich Americans’ enjoyment of the outdoors by expanding recreational opportunities in wilderness areas.”

Areas that would be affected by this bill include lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

As a mountain bike guide in Southern Utah, Jake Weber said in a statement for the Sustainable Trails Coalition that he would be in favor of Lee’s proposal.

“Hooray for a common-sense bill being introduced in the Senate that will allow local land managers to manage their designated public lands as they understand them best,” Weber said. “Lee is listening to his constituents. While we may not agree on everything, we can agree that bikes belong. They always have.”

Not everyone is happy with Lee’s proposal. Freddy Dunn, an equestrian from St. George who is also the president of the Back Country Horsemen of America, said she would be against a bill allowing bikes in wilderness areas.

“Many bicyclists go at high speeds with earbuds in their ears and they wouldn’t necessarily hear or see a string of horses, particularly in the wilderness where people go and take pack strings,” Dunn said. “A pack string rack on a mountain trail that has a 300-foot drop on one side could potentially be very, very dangerous for both the bicyclist and the horses or mules.”

As the law stands now under the 1964 Wilderness Act, all forms of “mechanical transport” through designated wilderness areas is banned. While this mainly includes cars, vehicles like bikes and hang gliders were also banned. Lee’s bill would remove the blanket ban on bicycles.

“We’re against any amendment to the Wilderness Act of 1964,” Dunn said. “Once you allow an amendment for something as important as the Wilderness Act, it opens the door and sets precedents for other things.”

Wilderness lands are defined as “area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain,” according to the 1964 Wilderness Act. In southwestern Utah, these wilderness lands include the Beaver Dam Mountains Wilderness, Zion Wilderness, Red Mountain Wilderness, LaVerkin Creek Wilderness and Pine Valley Mountain Wilderness.

Lee’s bill won’t create any additional routes or trails for bikers through wilderness lands. Mountain bikers will have to use the existing routes through the land.

Trails would open to nonmotorized, human-powered travel, letting agency staff observe the result. They would still be able to restrict or prohibit mountain biking, just as they can other recreational activities. After the two-year window for local wilderness managers to make a decision, they can still decide to open and close routes.

Under Lee’s bill, local wilderness managers can also determine rules like requiring a permit for mountain bikers, limiting group size, regulating the time of day or time of year routes will be open for bikers, or requiring speed limits.

Rachel Carnahan, a public affairs specialist for the Bureau of Land Management, said policy prevented BLM officials from commenting on drafted or proposed legislation.

Lee’s bill is similar to one currently pending in the House of Representatives by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California. McClintock’s bill would similarly allow local wilderness managers to determine if bikes should be allowed in designated wilderness lands.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/srr-sen-lee-proposes-bill-addressing-mountain-biking-through-wilderness-areas/feed/7Collision near Kanab results in death of Virginia manhttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-collision-near-kanab-results-in-death-of-virginia-man/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-collision-near-kanab-results-in-death-of-virginia-man/#commentsWed, 23 May 2018 20:42:07 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595966ST. GEORGE – A Virginia man was killed near Kanab Monday afternoon following a vehicle collision with a semitractor-trailer.

Around 3:40 p.m., Monday, a passenger car was southbound on state Route 89 near milepost 46 – about 15 miles east of Kanab – when it drifted across the center lane, according to the Utah Highway Patrol. This put the car in the path of an oncoming semi pulling two belly-dump trailers.

The driver of the semi saw the passenger car and attempted to move to the right. Despite this, the car impacted the rear axle of the first trailer and caused severe damage to the car, the UHP said.

The collision also caused the semi and first trailer to overturn.

While the car’s driver and passenger had been properly restrained, the driver, identified as 75-year-old Morland Trombley, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, received fatal injuries from the collision.

The passenger was flown to a hospital via medical helicopter in fair condition, the UHP said.

Preliminary findings by investigators indicate Trombley may have either fallen asleep or lost consciousness as a result of a medical condition when the car drifted across the center lane.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-collision-near-kanab-results-in-death-of-virginia-man/feed/1Driver falls asleep, truck smashes into wallhttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-driver-falls-asleep-truck-smashes-into-wall/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-driver-falls-asleep-truck-smashes-into-wall/#respondWed, 23 May 2018 19:29:38 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595918ST. GEORGE — An early morning crash Wednesday caused by drowsy driving resulted in a pickup truck in the tow yard and a driver with a citation.

Shortly after 7 a.m. officers were dispatched to a single-vehicle crash on the Dixie Drive overpass to Interstate 15 involving a small white Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck.

“The driver said he got up early to take a buddy to work,” Lewis said, “and that he’d been getting up early over the last few days so it was basically lack of sleep.”

The driver was given a field sobriety test but ultimately was only cited for improper lane travel. The truck was towed from the roadway.

On average, more than 1,000 crashes each year are attributed to drowsy driving in Utah and kill roughly 19 people annually, according to a 2015 “Sleep Smart Drive Smart” report released by the Utah Department of Public Safety.

The numbers may not state the true size of the problem, since identifying drowsiness or fatigue as the cause “can be very difficult,” the report said.

The report shows that most drowsy driving crashes occur between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m., with the highest number reported at 7 a.m.

This report is based on statements from police or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/cgb-driver-falls-asleep-truck-smashes-into-wall/feed/0Authors refuse to attend Utah comic convention over handling of sexual misconduct complainthttps://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/apc-authors-refuse-to-attend-utah-comic-convention-over-handling-of-sexual-misconduct-complaint/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/apc-authors-refuse-to-attend-utah-comic-convention-over-handling-of-sexual-misconduct-complaint/#commentsWed, 23 May 2018 17:30:44 +0000http://stgnews.com/?p=595745SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Salt Lake City’s annual comic convention is dealing with a rift over its handling of a sexual misconduct allegation that’s caused several participants to back out of planned appearances.

In a blog post Tuesday, young adult fiction author Shannon Hale accused organizers of the annual FanX convention of being dismissive toward harassment complaints and concerns from women. The post came after convention co-founder Bryan Brandenburg apologized Monday for seeming “insensitive to people’s pain.”

Jessica Nowan, left front, and Caitlin Grandstaff, right, stand in line for a comic convention at the Salt Palace Convention Center, in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sept. 4, 2017 | Associated Press file photo by Rick Bowmer, St. George News

He said staff will undergo training for sexual harassment and added that a new policy has been written outlining possible sanctions when a complaint is made.

“I need to improve on listening and making people feel validated,” Brandenburg said in a statement.

Hale said the apology wasn’t enough to restore her confidence in the organizers. At least six other participants have said they’re withdrawing from the convention.

Earlier this month, Hale raised concern over comments by co-founder Dan Farr that seemed to downplay a complaint against author Richard Paul Evans for hugging a fellow panelist at last year’s convention. The anonymous complaint cited by the Salt Lake Tribune said the contact was unwanted.

Farr, however, told the newspaper that Evans is “very huggy and demonstrative” and that “giving that warm reception to fans is very positive.”

Evans, who created the “Michael Vey” and “Christmas Box” series, has not been invited back to the convention. He did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday from The Associated Press.

Hale said she saw a confidential report about the incident done by convention officials that raised “a number of red flags for me and a lot of language that seemed to belittle the accuser and protect the harasser.” Hale said she raised her concerns with Brandenburg but said she was initially dismissed.

Organizers of the convention did not immediately reply to a phone message and emails seeking comments on the report or the details provided by Hale.

“Maybe it is best that you sit this one out and then wait to hear how it went,” Brandenburg said in an email to her, according to a screen grab Hale posted online Monday. “I know in my heart that we take this seriously and I don’t think you get it. I have four daughters and I’ve been sensitive to these issues for decades, long before it became trendy with #metoo.”

FanX responded by posting part of the exchange on Twitter without covering up Hale’s personal email address. Brandenburg has since said that was inadvertent.

“I do not want to have anything more to do with them,” Hale wrote Tuesday.

Authors Margaret Stohl, Brendan Reichs, Ilima Todd, Ally Condie and actresses Arryn Zech and Lindsay Jones have said on Twitter that they also won’t be attending the convention this year because of the handling of the harassment claim.

Hale has written more than a dozen books, including 2006 Newbery Honor “Princess Academy” and “Austenland,” which was turned into a movie starring Keri Russell in 2013.

FanX was previously known as Salt Lake Comic Con but changed its name this year after a trademark dispute with organizers of San Diego Comic-Con International. Organizers expect more than 100,000 attendees over three days in September.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/apc-authors-refuse-to-attend-utah-comic-convention-over-handling-of-sexual-misconduct-complaint/feed/6Golf tournament raises $28,000 for Community Soup Kitchen. How you can help without swinging a club.https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-golf-tournament-raises-28000-for-community-soup-kitchen/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-golf-tournament-raises-28000-for-community-soup-kitchen/#commentsWed, 23 May 2018 14:54:36 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595785ST. GEORGE – The Community Soup Kitchen, a division of Switchpoint Community Resource Center, received $28,000 from a charity golf tournament Monday. The soup kitchen’s needs are many and there are plenty of ways people can help through donations and volunteering.

The annual charity golf event was sponsored by the Sand Hollow Resort and has raised over $76,000 for charity since it started four years ago.

“We are always happy to provide our award-winning championship course as the breathtaking setting for this worthwhile event,” said Adam Jasperson, general manager of Sand Hollow Resort Operations.

The Sand Hollow Resort is located east of the Sand Hollow reservoir in Hurricane.

Throughout the year, resort employees volunteer their time to help prepare and serve meals at the soup kitchen.

The Community Soup Kitchen is a nonprofit organization that serves the needy in Washington County by easing the burden of hunger for the working poor, students, elderly and the homeless.

The soup kitchen is located at the Grace Episcopal Church, 1072 E. 900 South in St. George, and serves a meal Monday through Friday from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Giving back to the communities we serve is a critical part of our mission, and we are proud to support the Community Soup Kitchen in their effort to help the most vulnerable citizens of Washington County,” said Robert Roche, president of Roche Enterprises, parent company of Sand Hollow Resort.

Donations, grants and volunteers help keep the Switchpoint Community Resource Center and its operations going.

Donate

Individuals who wish to donate financially to Switchpoint can do so through its website. Additional ways to donate services and resources are also featured on the website.

Wishlist

Switchpoint Community Resource Center has an up-to-date wishlist on its website that contains items many people don’t think of when going to donate. Much-needed items like toilet paper, trash bags and other supplies cannot be purchased with grant funds. Other items like city bus passes help Switchpoint clients with needed transportation around the city.

Anyone wishing to donate items should look at the wishlist first.

Volunteer

Switchpoint is always looking for people who want to donate their time. A volunteer coordinator can match volunteers to jobs that suit their skill sets or schedules.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

]]>https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/mgk-golf-tournament-raises-28000-for-community-soup-kitchen/feed/1Top 10 things you need to know about your health screenings. Things have changed.https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/sfl-top-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-your-health-screenings-things-have-changed/
https://stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2018/05/23/sfl-top-10-things-you-need-to-know-about-your-health-screenings-things-have-changed/#respondWed, 23 May 2018 14:25:38 +0000http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/?p=595387FEATURE – Are you getting tested too much? Not often enough? For the right things? More testing is generally better, right? This will catch you up on what you need to know about this important subject.

The following 10 items are based on recommendations from the National Institute of Health. Things have changed some in the last few years. See if you are up to date:

1 – Hypertension.

Screening for hypertension should begin at age 18 and, if there are no other risk factors, checked every three years until age 40 then yearly. You can do it yourself. If one random blood pressure is high, take it again several times over the next month or two.

Data from recent large studies shows benefits to pushing blood pressure lower than we used to. The newer goal in women with risks of heart attack and stroke is 120/70. This lower goal is a fairly recent change and comes from a huge trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in what is called the Sprint trial.

Screening for high cholesterol should start about age 45 and if normal every five years is reasonable. These tests are typically being done on women too early and too often. Studies show that low-risk women do not benefit from taking cholesterol-lowering medications unless their 10-year risk of a heart attack or stroke is over 7.5 percent.

Women and men are different when it comes to heart disease, too. They have different risks and often have different symptoms. More frequent testing and more aggressive treatment of elevated lipids in low-risk patients do not reduce mortality from heart attack.

3 – Diabetes.

Screening for diabetes at 40 is recommended then every three years if there are risk factors. If there are no significant risk factors, you do not need to be tested any more frequently than every five years.

4 – Colon cancer.

Screening for colon cancer with colonoscopy every 10 years starting at age 50 is the best screening test for colon cancer, which is the second most common cancer in nonsmoking women. Colonoscopy decreases mortality from colon cancer by over 75 percent. It is quick and safe, and appointments can usually be made by calling a gastroenterologist directly for routine screening.

Screening for cervical cancer (Pap smears) should not start before age 21 and if it is normal then every three years.

Screening is slowly moving away from Pap smears and towards screening for high-risk HPV (human papilloma virus) instead because it is this virus that causes cervical cancer. An effective HPV vaccine is available now and screening decreases mortality by over 75 percent. Paps are usually discontinued at age 65.

6 – Ovarian cancer.

Screening for ovarian cancer is not recommended in average-risk women. Hopefully that will change in the near future, but presently there are no effective screening methods for a low-risk population. CA-125 blood tests are used to follow known ovarian cancers and their response to treatment, but it is not an effective screening tool.

7 – Lung cancer.

Screening for lung cancer is recommended yearly for moderate to heavy smokers over 55 by performing low-dose CT scanning (formerly known as a CAT scan). Screening reduces death from lung cancer by 20 percent. Lung cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death in women and has the highest five-year mortality rate of any cancer. Women who smoke are 13 times more likely to get lung cancer than those who don’t.

Technician positions a woman to receive a mammogram | Public domain photo, St. George News

8 – Breast cancer.

Screening for breast cancer with mammography is recommended to start at age 40-50 at one- to two-year intervals (there is no consensus). The reason there is no consensus is that mammograms unfortunately show only a very small decrease in breast cancer mortality, and self-exams are no longer encouraged because of lack of evidence.

Look for an upcoming feature in which I will talk about what mammography does and doesn’t do for you in greater detail. It is very important for women to have a clear idea of what the risks and benefits are of mammography to make informed decisions about their health. Coming soon ….

9 – Skin cancer.

Depending on your risks, it is recommended to have a skin exam every one to three years if you have risk factors for melanoma as recommended by your dermatologist. If you are at low risk, your primary doctor (family practitioner or OBGYN) should be able to screen your skin for skin cancers and pre-cancerous changes.

Of the three main types of cancers (basal cell, squamous cell and melanoma), only melanomas are metastatic and potentially fatal. They can be anywhere (even in places that the sun doesn’t shine). Make sure your skin gets carefully examined.

Screening for osteoporosis in normal-risk women should not start until age 65 or about 15 years after entering menopause. Screening is done by DEXA scan (like an X-ray). If your bone density is normal, current recommendations are that you do not need to be tested again for 10-15years.

If your DEXA/fracture risk shows some thinning of bone (osteopenia), you should be tested no sooner than every three years. Data shows that more frequent or earlier testing is not effective.

One final suggestion: All other screening, lab work and testing should be based on specific concerns or risks.

Many people get thyroid tests, blood counts, liver function testing and renal testing just as routine. These are not recommended screening tests.

Getting blood work just out of routine every year is not recommended, is unnecessarily expensive (increasing the costs of health care even more) and is not beneficial to you.

Knowledge is power. You have every right to participate in the decisions regarding how you are screened and treated for disease. Like everything else in life, the more you know, the better you can be involved with your own health care.

I’m not talking about the “just because” types of gifts. It has become birthdays, Mother’s Day and even Christmas one year. This has been going on for the past three or four years. In all fairness, he will occasionally take me out to dinner for such occasions.

Prior to this he was an amazing giver. I honestly never even expect him to spend money. Some of the best gifts I received in the beginning of our marriage cost him nothing, but they were always my favorite because it showed he cared about me and spent time thinking about me.

Last year my children and I were out of town over my birthday and Mother’s Day. I thought he might have a card or some flowers waiting when I got home, but there was nothing. When I tried to express to him that it made me feel badly he turned it back on me and said, “Sorry I’m not living up to your expectations!”

I know it seems selfish of me, as it really isn’t the gifts that matter. It’s the thought. Now that it’s gone it has me wondering if he really cares for me anymore. Is there any way for me to bring it up? I’m tired of feeling like no one cares about me on special days; my children are too young to help me celebrate. Thank you for any advice you can give.

Answer

I understand why you feel silly caring about the lack of gifts. On the surface, it seems like a superficial thing to fuss about. Indeed, it would be silly if your main focus centered on getting certain types of gifts. However, you’re looking for some evidence that you mean something to your husband. As you pointed out, it truly is the thought that matters.

Because humans are pair bonders, we are wired to look to only one special person to show us that we matter. It’s true that, as adults, we need to have the ability to know we matter regardless of what anyone else says (or doesn’t say). It is an inescapable fact that we find great comfort and security in our primary attachment bond to our spouse.

When we are born, our physical and emotional security comes from the loving care we receive from our parents or caregivers. As we mature, we go from a one-sided attachment where we depend on someone to take care of our needs to a reciprocal two-way attachment where we both depend and allow someone to depend on us for security and comfort. When husbands and wives offer this type of security to one another, they form a secure bond.

When primary attachment relationship to our spouse lacks that reciprocal quality, we naturally begin to question whether we matter to the other person. In fact, because we’ve given ourselves fully to this other person, we’re quite defenseless against the reality that the other person isn’t responding.

Sure, we can work to discipline our minds to not care or ignore the reality of a one-sided relationship, but the fact remains that it simply hurts. When a stranger doesn’t reciprocate, we can move on and aren’t affected. On the other hand, when our spouse doesn’t reciprocate, we can’t just move on and act like it doesn’t bother us. It causes us to question our worth and value.

This is why it’s important for you to stay with this conversation with your husband. Yes, he became snappy and defensive with you. He obviously knows that he blew it because he’s understood the importance of giving and receiving love through thoughtful acts and gifts.

You’re not selfish for wanting to know that you matter to him. You have a right to know if you matter to your spouse. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be much of a marriage but rather a roommate arrangement. And roommates are a dime a dozen.

Even though it hurts, you don’t need to play games with your husband to get him to respond. Bring this up to him at a time that is far removed from a traditional gift-giving occasion. Don’t start by talking about the lack of gifts. It’s not about the gifts. This is all about what you mean to him.

Let him know that you need reassurance that you matter to him. Tell him you don’t have scripted expectations of how that should look but that you simply want to know that you’re special and different from everyone else in his life. Tell him how important he is to you and that you want him to know the same.

It’s common for young parents to get so overwhelmed with the needs of children, career and other commitments that they let the marriage fall by the wayside. It’s easier to spoil your spouse when it’s only the two of you. When you add competing attachments and commitments, sometimes we get sloppy and take our spouse for granted.

Make sure you understand what helps him feel important and special to you as well. Both of you need that reassurance. You can both commit to nurture your special bond and regularly reassure one another of how important you are to each other. Stay with this conversation for as long as it takes so you can both receive the ongoing reassurance that you matter.

Stay connected!

Geoff Steurer is a licensed marriage and family therapist in private practice in St. George, Utah. He specializes in working with couples in all stages of their relationships. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.

Robert Paul Thurston, 62, passed away May 15, 2018, at his home in New Albany, Indiana.

He was born Oct. 4, 1955, in St. George, Utah. He graduated from Hurricane High School and attended Dixie College. He went on to graduate from Utah State University. He was a statistician for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for over 37 years. He was an Eagle Scout and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served in many positions, including a counselor in two bishoprics, on the high council, seminary instructor, ward organist, scoutmaster and was serving as a counselor in the New Albany Ward bishopric at the time of his passing.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Paul and Alice Thurston; brother, Kelly Thurston; and three sisters, Marilyn Manning, Thais Williams and Alice Tamara Thurston.

Robert is survived by his brother, Bill (Betty) Thurston; and two sisters, Claire (Robert) Gemmill and Emma Louise Thurston.

Funeral services

Funeral services will be held Friday, May 25, at 2 p.m., at Metcalf Hurricane Valley Mortuary, 140 N. Main St., Hurricane, Utah.

A visitation will be held Friday, prior to services, from 12:30-1:30 p.m., at the mortuary.

Interment will be in the Hurricane City Cemetery.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221.

Our sweet mother, Teresa Schumacher, passed through the veil into the arms of our heavenly Father on May 20, 2018. You can be sure of a joyous reunion with loved ones who awaited her.

Teresa was born May 19, 1925, in Napoli, Italy, to Vincenco Prota and Mary Davi. She married an American GI, Eugene John Schumacher, Aug. 12, 1945, in Naples in the Cathedral of San Genaro. In 1945, she immigrated to the United States and settled in Laramie, Wyoming. They had five children: Toni Lund, Patricia Sakaguchi, Joseph (Cyndi) Schumacher, Eugene (Nancy) Schumacher and Michael Schumacher. Eugene and Teresa were married 27 years before his death in 1971. Born Catholic, Teresa joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1973 in Laramie. She was sealed to Eugene Aug. 12, 2015, in the St. George temple.

In 1972, she met the second love of her life in Hawaii and they were together 34 years. He died in 2007. She moved to St. George, Utah, in June 1973 with her three sons where they have made their home ever since.

Teresa has devoted her life to serving others with love and devotion. She was the first of seven children so she learned to work at a very young age. After completing the required five years of elementary school, her father found her an apprenticeship with a dressmaker. At age 15 she was bringing home more money than her father.

She was always in tune with the spirit. When the first bombs dropped on Naples they hit the building where she was working. Just moments before, she felt impressed to take her young coworker and go to the bathroom in the basement. A bomb fell trapping them in the bathroom, but killing everyone else in the building. It took three days to dig them out. Another time the Germans were flying overhead and shooting into the piazza. Everyone ran toward the shelters and fell as they were shot, others fell on top of them. She and her year old sister were buried below dead bodies. Miraculously they both survived.

They managed to survive during the war thanks to the American GIs. Her mother could speak English so they were able to do laundry for them. This is where she met Eugene Schumacher. He was not her choice, but her mother’s. Her mother was raised in America but her father took them back to Sicily when she was 15. She always wanted to return and this marriage to Eugene was her way of doing it.

Coming to America had its challenges. There was the language barrier. Communicating with her husband and others. Eugene wisely got her into sales. She went from selling hosiery, to mops and brooms, custom-fitted bras and girdles, costume jewelry and much more. She could sell ice to the Eskimos! She became the first female agent for United of Omaha, passing the exam on the first try, and in the first year she was No. 1 in sales.

She also had health challenges that led her to search for answers for herself. When Eugene succumbed to colon cancer in 1971 her mission became clear.

The nutritional company she was working for sent her to Italy to work. There she also studied iridology and upon returning to St. George, joined Nature’s Sunshine Products as a distributor. She continued studying iridology under Dr. Bernard Jensen through Nature’s Sunshine. She was well known to many in St. George and worked with many people with their nutritional needs. One particular lady came to her from eastern Utah for help. Through inspiration she chose herbs that would help her. It was from that formulation that others found success and a small nutritional company from Nampa, Idaho, noticed her. Together Ron Wright and Dennis Itami, from the AIM companies, helped to make her dream of an herbal product that was reasonably priced you could scoop out became a reality.

Her journey has blessed the lives of many people in the United States and many parts of the world. Even days before her passing she was giving health advice to her many callers. She had a mission to fulfill and we believe she was spared during WWII to complete that mission. She has done it well and we affectionately call her our “Mother Teresa.”

She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands Eugene Schumacher and Harry Greenfield; siblings Josie, Joseph, Maria Willhard and Salvatore. She is survived by her children, her siblings Carolina, Gupta and Antoniette Vulpis, 16 grandchildren, 31 great-grandchildren and nine great-great-grandchildren.

Funeral services

Funeral services will be held Friday, May 25, at 11 a.m., at the St. James LDS Ward Chapel, 1095 East St. James Lane, St. George, Utah.

Visitations will be held Thursday, May 24, from 6-8 p.m. at Metcalf Mortuary, 288 West St. George Blvd., and Friday, prior to service, from 9:30-10:30 a.m., at the church.

Interment will be in Tonaquint Cemetery.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221.

Annette Austad English, 62, passed away May 18, 2018. Annette was born Dec. 12, 1955, in Ogden, Utah, to Grant Jacob Austad and Barbara Laverne Pickett. She married Lysle C. English in Elko, Nevada, June 7, 1977, they were later sealed in the Ogden temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Annette attended Ben Lomond High School in Ogden and later attended Weber State University. She then went on to one of the best jobs anyone could ask for, raising her children whom she loved more than anything on this earth (aside from her grandchildren who came later). The family had the opportunity to live abroad for a time while her husband was a contract aerospace engineer living in Arizona, Virginia, Arkansas and Nebraska before finally settling in Toquerville, Utah, and then later in Hurricane, Utah.

After all the kids entered school, Annette began her career with the Hurricane City Police Department as a secretary where she worked 18 years and had many friendships that she treasured and even got the opportunity to work with her daughter toward the end.

Annette loved to travel on many special trips with her husband, read and cook the many creations she found on the Food Network. She loved listening to the music of her youth and she shared that love with her children who knew all of mom’s favorite groups and songs. She enjoyed watching sports with her kids and grandkids and always found time to come pick them up and take them out for a treat or to dinner when she didn’t want to cook. She always wanted each of them to feel special. One of Annette’s biggest loves was her grandchildren and she loved to come to their sports and activities where you could hear her over the crowd cheering them on.